Low-Carb Lesson #12: Kentucky Hot Brown, Croutons, & Zapples

Di Bauer October 5, 2001 Dessert Recipes, Main Dish Recipes, Recipes, Salad Recipes 1 Comment 1,021 Views

Written by Di Bauer October 5, 2001, Updated by Andrew DiMino July 18, 2016

Low Carb Cooking 101

I know what most of you are thinking: “Hot brown what?”

Kentucky Hot Brown is a traditional recipe for a hot turkey sandwich. I usually make it as an entree, but I will sometimes make it as a sandwich using Romaine lettuce leaves in lieu of the traditional bread. It’s good that way, but messy.

Kentucky Hot Brown is an excellent way to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, but it can be served any time, of course. Since turkeys were on sale at my local grocery store this week for 59 cents a pound, we’re not waiting until Thanksgiving. We’re enjoying it this weekend!

Kentucky Hot Brown is a wonderful cold weather comfort food, and can be partially prepared ahead of time to serve on lazy Saturday or Sunday evening or for casual parties like the ones we tend to throw for the Super Bowl. If I am serving non-low carbers, I offer them the sandwich version on toasted bread.

When I’m serving Kentucky Hot Brown as a main dish entree, I accompany it with a simple side salad with homemade low carbohydrate croutons and Zapples, my own low carbohydrate version of apple slices.

Here’s This Evening’s Low-Carb Recipes

Here’s the Low Carb Lesson #12 Gameplan

The night before, or up to a couple of days ahead of time:

Make the Zapples. Store them in the refrigerator.
Make the Low Carb Croutons. This recipe can be multiplied if you want to make more than one meal’s worth of croutons.
Cook the bacon. Wrap the cooled bacon in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

The night you are planning to serve the meal, start out by setting the table. Construct the salads and put both the salad and the salad dressing on the table.

Prepare the Hot Brown. While the Hot Brown is in the oven, fish the Jicama Wedges out of their container and fan them out on the dinner plates.

When the Hot Brown is hot and bubbly (pun intended), take it out of the oven and use a spatula to slide the portions onto the dinner plates.

Take the plates to the table and sit down to a well-deserved, relaxing meal.

Back to Low Carb Cooking 101.